THE Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has lodged a formal complaint with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) over multiple umpiring decisions that it deemed contentious during the second-round action at the Malaysia Masters 2025 on Thursday.
BAM alleged that three decisions made at crucial points of the match between young national men’s doubles pair Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai (picture) and Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard had significantly influenced the outcome, thus raising serious concerns over the fairness of play.
“A formal complaint has been submitted alongside video evidence and detailed match documentation for BWF’s immediate review.
“BAM remains committed to upholding the values of sportsmanship and professionalism, and calls on BWF to take swift and transparent action to address this matter and prevent similar incidents in future competitions,” it said in a statement today.
The controversial umpiring decisions marred Khai Xing-Aaron’s exit to the Danes, who won the 67-minute clash 21-10, 24-26, 21-16.
Meanwhile, BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh, in the same statement, emphasised the importance of maintaining integrity in officiating, stating that while the association respects the role of technical officials, it is crucial for a thorough review of officiating standards be conducted by the BWF.
In BAM’s view, Kenny said, the decisions made by the umpire were clearly erroneous and denied the players a fair contest.
“Such officiating not only affects the outcome of matches but also undermines the credibility of the sport of badminton,” he said.
National men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi had, after the match, described such decisions made as unfair and felt that the situation placed emotional stress on 19-year-old Khai Xing and 18-year-old Aaron. — BERNAMA
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